---
title: "What Is Sucker? Stump Grinding Glossary | Cincinnati Stump Grinding"
description: "A sucker is a shoot that grows from a tree's roots or base instead of from a branch, and it can keep appearing for years after a tree is cut or a stump is ground."
url: https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/sucker
publisher: Cincinnati Stump Grinding
phone: +1-513-587-6772
quote: https://cincystump.multisites.ai/contact
---

Tree

# Sucker

A sucker is a shoot that grows from a tree's roots or base instead of from a branch, and it can keep appearing for years after a tree is cut or a stump is ground.

A sucker is a shoot that rises from a root or the base of a tree. It grows up from below instead of out from a branch. Many trees send up suckers after the main trunk is removed.

University of Illinois Extension says that once the trees were gone, the rootstock continued to live in the soil and produce the suckers. It adds that mowing them off leaves enough of a stem to encourage more suckers to grow with the reserves remaining.

The suckers will keep coming until the food stored in the roots runs out. Leaving them to grow lets them send energy back to the roots and makes things worse. Compare with a [stump sprout](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/stump-sprout), which grows from the stump itself. Cutting suckers low and often wears the roots down. Persistent cases can also involve [resprouting](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/resprouting).

## Related terms

-   [Stump sprout](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/stump-sprout)
-   [Resprouting](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/resprouting)
-   [Lateral roots](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/lateral-roots)
-   [Stump](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/stump)

## Sources

1.  [University of Illinois Extension, Ask Extension: Trees & Shrubs](https://web.extension.illinois.edu/askextension/thisQuestion.cfm?ThreadID=10766&catID=34&AskSiteID=34)
2.  [University of Illinois Extension, Ask Extension: Trees & Shrubs](https://web.extension.illinois.edu/askextension/thisQuestion.cfm?ThreadID=10766&catID=34&AskSiteID=34)
3.  [University of Illinois Extension, Ask Extension: Trees & Shrubs](https://web.extension.illinois.edu/askextension/thisQuestion.cfm?ThreadID=10766&catID=34&AskSiteID=34)